device with multiple cue modules

ABSTRACT

A device includes a primary cue module, a secondary cue module, a processing module, and a wireless transceiver. The primary cue module obtains primary data regarding an object of interest and the secondary cue module obtains secondary data regarding the object of interest. The processing module is operably coupled to: convert the primary data and the secondary data into an outbound message; convert the outbound message into an outbound symbol stream; and convert an inbound symbol stream into an inbound message, wherein the inbound message includes information regarding the object of interest. The wireless transceiver is operably coupled to: convert the outbound symbol stream into an outbound wireless signal; and convert an inbound wireless signal into the inbound symbol stream.

CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED PATENTS

This invention is claiming priority under 35 USC §119(e) to aprovisionally filed patent application having the same title as thepresent patent application, a filing date of Sep. 28, 2009, and anapplication No. 61/246,272.

STATEMENT REGARDING FEDERALLY SPONSORED RESEARCH OR DEVELOPMENT

Not Applicable

INCORPORATION-BY-REFERENCE OF MATERIAL SUBMITTED ON A COMPACT DISC

Not Applicable

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

1. Technical Field of the Invention

This invention relates generally to wireless communication systems andmore particularly to data processing within such systems.

2. Description of Related Art

Communication systems are known to support wireless and wire linedcommunications between wireless and/or wire lined communication devices.Such communication systems range from national and/or internationalcellular telephone systems to the Internet to point-to-point in-homewireless networks. Each type of communication system is constructed, andhence operates, in accordance with one or more communication standards.For instance, wireless communication systems may operate in accordancewith one or more standards including, but not limited to, IEEE 802.11,Bluetooth, advanced mobile phone services (AMPS), digital AMPS, globalsystem for mobile communications (GSM), code division multiple access(CDMA), local multi-point distribution systems (LMDS),multi-channel-multi-point distribution systems (MMDS), radio frequencyidentification (RFID), Enhanced Data rates for GSM Evolution (EDGE),General Packet Radio Service (GPRS), WCDMA, LTE (Long Term Evolution),WiMAX (worldwide interoperability for microwave access), and/orvariations thereof.

Depending on the type of wireless communication system, a wirelesscommunication device, such as a cellular telephone, two-way radio,personal digital assistant (PDA), personal computer (PC), laptopcomputer, home entertainment equipment, RFID reader, RFID tag, et ceteracommunicates directly or indirectly with other wireless communicationdevices. For direct communications (also known as point-to-pointcommunications), the participating wireless communication devices tunetheir receivers and transmitters to the same channel or channels (e.g.,one of the plurality of radio frequency (RF) carriers of the wirelesscommunication system or a particular RF frequency for some systems) andcommunicate over that channel(s). For indirect wireless communications,each wireless communication device communicates directly with anassociated base station (e.g., for cellular services) and/or anassociated access point (e.g., for an in-home or in-building wirelessnetwork) via an assigned channel. To complete a communication connectionbetween the wireless communication devices, the associated base stationsand/or associated access points communicate with each other directly,via a system controller, via the public switch telephone network, viathe Internet, and/or via some other wide area network.

For each wireless communication device to participate in wirelesscommunications, it includes a built-in radio transceiver (i.e., receiverand transmitter) or is coupled to an associated radio transceiver (e.g.,a station for in-home and/or in-building wireless communicationnetworks, RF modem, etc.). As is known, the receiver is coupled to anantenna and includes a low noise amplifier, one or more intermediatefrequency stages, a filtering stage, and a data recovery stage. The lownoise amplifier receives inbound RF signals via the antenna andamplifies then. The one or more intermediate frequency stages mix theamplified RF signals with one or more local oscillations to convert theamplified RF signal into baseband signals or intermediate frequency (IF)signals. The filtering stage filters the baseband signals or the IFsignals to attenuate unwanted out of band signals to produce filteredsignals. The data recovery stage recovers data from the filtered signalsin accordance with the particular wireless communication standard.

As is also known, the transmitter includes a data modulation stage, oneor more intermediate frequency stages, and a power amplifier. The datamodulation stage converts data into baseband signals in accordance witha particular wireless communication standard. The one or moreintermediate frequency stages mix the baseband signals with one or morelocal oscillations to produce RF signals. The power amplifier amplifiesthe RF signals prior to transmission via an antenna.

Such wireless communication devices are offering more and more services.For example, current cell phones offer a suite of downloadableapplications that range from flashlights, to compasses, to navigationsystems, to games, to social networking, to music, to utilities, toreferences, etc. Most, if not all, of these applications containedpredetermined information. That is, if a user knows what he or she islooking for and enters the appropriate input commands, the user canobtain a desired answer. In situations where the user encounters aperson, place, or thing of interest and wants to obtain informationregarding the person, place, or thing, portable device accessibledatabases and/or other applications, if they exist, are cumbersome touse.

Therefore, a needs exists for obtaining information regarding an objectof interest via a portable device.

BRIEF SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

The present invention is directed to apparatus and methods of operationthat are further described in the following Brief Description of theDrawings, the Detailed Description of the Invention, and the claims.Other features and advantages of the present invention will becomeapparent from the following detailed description of the invention madewith reference to the accompanying drawings.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE SEVERAL VIEWS OF THE DRAWING(S)

FIG. 1 is a schematic block diagram of an embodiment of a system inaccordance with the present invention;

FIG. 2 is a schematic block diagram of an embodiment of a device inaccordance with the present invention;

FIG. 3 is a schematic block diagram of another embodiment of a device inaccordance with the present invention;

FIG. 4 is a schematic block diagram of another embodiment of a device inaccordance with the present invention;

FIG. 5 is a logic diagram of an embodiment of a method for obtaininginformation regarding an object of interest in accordance with thepresent invention;

FIG. 6 is a schematic block diagram of another embodiment of a system inaccordance with the present invention;

FIG. 7 is a logic diagram of another embodiment of a method forobtaining information regarding an object of interest in accordance withthe present invention; and

FIG. 8 is a logic diagram of an embodiment of a method for providinginformation regarding an object of interest in accordance with thepresent invention.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

FIG. 1 is a schematic block diagram of an embodiment of a system inwhich a device 10 may obtain information regarding an object of interest14 from another device 12 and/or from a server 20. The device 10 maycommunicate with the other device 12 and/or the server 20 via a directwireless connection, via a wireless router 24, via a cellular telephonebase station 22, via a general cellular network 26, and/or via theinternet 28. Note that the server 20 may alternatively be coupled to thewireless router to provide a local area network server or coupled to thegeneral cellular network 26 to enable a cell phone carrier to provideinformation services regarding objects of interest. Further note thatthe system may include a plurality of servers for responding to requestsfor information regarding an object of interest. For example, one ormore servers may support requests for information regarding persons; oneor more servers may support requests for information regarding building;one or more servers may support requests for information regardinglandmarks; one or more servers may support requests for informationregarding things; one or more servers may support requests forinformation regarding mammals (e.g., birds, domestic animals, wildanimals, etc.); one or more servers may support requests for informationregarding insects; one or more servers may support requests forinformation regarding plants; one or more servers may support requestsfor information regarding reptiles; one or more servers may supportrequests for information regarding fish; one or more servers may supportrequests for information regarding songs; one or more servers maysupport requests for information regarding voices; and/or one or moreservers may support requests for information regarding sound sources(e.g., machine, human, animal, etc.).

The device 10 may be a cellular telephone, a personal digital assistant,a portable video game unit, a two-way radio, a portable video and/oraudio player, a portable medical monitoring and/or treatment device,and/or any other handheld electronic device that receives inputs from auser and provides corresponding outputs of audio data, video data,tactile data, text data, graphics data, and/or a combination thereof. Inan embodiment, the device 10 includes a processing module 40, a wirelesstransceiver 44, a primary cue module 34, and a secondary cue module 36.The processing module 40 may be a single processing device or aplurality of processing devices. Such a processing device may be amicroprocessor, micro-controller, digital signal processor,microcomputer, central processing unit, field programmable gate array,programmable logic device, state machine, logic circuitry, analogcircuitry, digital circuitry, and/or any device that manipulates signals(analog and/or digital) based on hard coding of the circuitry and/oroperational instructions. The processing module may have an associatedmemory and/or memory element, which may be a single memory device, aplurality of memory devices, and/or embedded circuitry of the processingmodule. Such a memory device may be a read-only memory, random accessmemory, volatile memory, non-volatile memory, static memory, dynamicmemory, flash memory, cache memory, and/or any device that storesdigital information. Note that if the processing module includes morethan one processing device, the processing devices may be centrallylocated (e.g., directly coupled together via a wired and/or wireless busstructure) or may be distributedly located (e.g., cloud computing viaindirect coupling via a local area network and/or a wide area network).Further note that when the processing module implements one or more ofits functions via a state machine, analog circuitry, digital circuitry,and/or logic circuitry, the memory and/or memory element storing thecorresponding operational instructions may be embedded within, orexternal to, the circuitry comprising the state machine, analogcircuitry, digital circuitry, and/or logic circuitry. Still further notethat, the memory element stores, and the processing module executes,hard coded and/or operational instructions corresponding to at leastsome of the steps and/or functions illustrated in FIGS. 1-8.

The other device 12, which may be a device similar to that of device 10or similar to server 20, includes a wireless interface 59, a processingmodule 56, and memory 58. The wireless interface 59 may be a wirelesstransceiver for communicating directly with the device 10 orcommunicating indirectly with device 10 via the wireless router 24, anaccess point, or some other local network service hub. The processingmodule 56 may be of a similar construct to that of processing module 40and, in an embodiment, functions to implement the method of FIG. 8. Thememory 58 stores information regarding objects of interest.

The server 20 includes a network and/or wireless interface 55, aprocessing module 52, and memory 54. The processing module 56 may be ofa similar construct to that of processing module 40 and, in anembodiment, functions to implement the method of FIG. 8. The memory 58stores information regarding objects of interest.

In an example of operation, the user of device 10 would like to obtaininformation regarding the object of interest 14 (e.g., a person, abuilding, a landmark, a thing, a mammal, an insect, a reptile, a fish, asong, a plant, a sound source (e.g., a radio broadcast signal, humanvocal cords, a speaker, etc.), etc.). In this example, the user causesthe primary cue module 34 to obtain primary data 48 (e.g., a digitalimage, an audio sample, geographic information, a text message, etc.)regarding the object of interest 14 and/or the secondary cue module 36(e.g., a digital image of the surrounding area, an audio sample, weatherinformation, further location information, a text message, altitudeinformation, frequency spectrum information, acceleration information,compass heading information, date, time of day, etc.) to obtainsecondary data 50 regarding the object of interest 14.

The processing module 40 converts the primary data and/or the secondarydata into an outbound message (e.g., a request for information regardingthe object of interest, the primary data, and/or the secondary data).The processing module 40 then converts the outbound message into anoutbound symbol stream in accordance with a wireless communicationprotocol (e.g., GSM, CDMA, WCDMA, HSUPA, HSDPA, WiMAX, EDGE, GPRS, IEEE802.11, Bluetooth, ZigBee, universal mobile telecommunications system(UMTS), long term evolution (LTE), IEEE 802.16, evolution data optimized(EV-DO), etc.). Such a conversion includes one or more of: scrambling,puncturing, encoding, interleaving, constellation mapping, modulation,frequency spreading, frequency hopping, beamforming, space-time-blockencoding, space-frequency-block encoding, frequency to time domainconversion, and/or digital baseband to intermediate frequencyconversion. The processing module 40 provides the outbound symbol streamto the wireless transceiver 44.

The wireless transceiver 44 includes a receiver section and atransmitter section. The transmitter section converts the outboundsymbol stream into an outbound wireless signal that has a carrierfrequency within a given frequency band (e.g., 900 MHz, 1800 MHz, 2.4GHz, 5.5 GHz, 57-66 GHz, etc.), which is transmitted to the other device12, to the base station 22, and/or to the wireless router 24. In anembodiment, the conversion begins with mixing the outbound symbol streamwith a local oscillation to produce an up-converted signal. One or morepower amplifiers and/or power amplifier drivers amplifies theup-converted signal, which may be RF bandpass filtered, to produce theoutbound wireless signal. In another embodiment, the transmitter sectionincludes an oscillator that produces an oscillation. The outbound symbolstream provides phase information (e.g., +/−Δθ [phase shift] and/or θ(t)[phase modulation]) that adjusts the phase of the oscillation to producea phase adjusted RF signal, which is transmitted as the outboundwireless signal. In another embodiment, the outbound symbol streamincludes amplitude information (e.g., A(t) [amplitude modulation]),which is used to adjust the amplitude of the phase adjusted RF signal toproduce the outbound wireless signal.

In yet another embodiment, the transmitter section includes anoscillator that produces an oscillation. The outbound symbol providesfrequency information (e.g., +/−Δf [frequency shift] and/or f(t)[frequency modulation]) that adjusts the frequency of the oscillation toproduce a frequency adjusted RF signal, which is transmitted as theoutbound wireless signal. In another embodiment, the outbound symbolstream includes amplitude information, which is used to adjust theamplitude of the frequency adjusted RF signal to produce the outboundwireless signal. In a further embodiment, the transmitter sectionincludes an oscillator that produces an oscillation. The outbound symbolprovides amplitude information (e.g., +/−ΔA [amplitude shift] and/orA(t) [amplitude modulation) that adjusts the amplitude of theoscillation to produce the outbound wireless signal.

The other device 12 and/or server 20 receives an inbound symbol streamthat represents the outbound message regarding the object of interestvia its corresponding interface 59, 55. The processing module 52 and/or59 converts the inbound symbol stream into primary data and/or secondarydata, and a request for desired information regarding an object ofinterest in accordance with a wireless protocol (e.g., GSM, CDMA, WCDMA,HSUPA, HSDPA, WiMAX, EDGE, GPRS, IEEE 802.11, Bluetooth, ZigBee, UMTS,LTE, IEEE 802.16, EV-DO, etc.) and/or a wired protocol (e.g., Ethernet,TCP/IP, etc.).

The processing module 52 and/or 56 determines whether a local memory(e.g., memory 54 and/or 58) stores the desired information regarding theobject of interest based on the request for the desired information, theprimary data, and/or the secondary data. For example, the primary datamay be a digital image of a bird, the secondary data may be an audiosample of the bird, and the request is “what is the name of this bird”.In this example, the processing module 52 and/or 56 performs a look uptable function, or the like, to determine whether its memory 54 and/or58 includes the requested information. If so, the processing module 52and/or 56 converts the desired information regarding the object ofinterest into an outbound symbol stream that is subsequently convertedinto an inbound wireless signal. Note that the primary and secondarydata provide cues as to the object of interest that assist the otherdevice 12 and/or the server 20 in narrowing its search to find thedesired information.

The wireless transceiver 44 of the device 10 converts the inboundwireless signal into the inbound symbol stream. This may be done via thereceiver section by amplifying the inbound wireless signal to produce anamplified inbound wireless signal. The receiver section then mixesin-phase (I) and quadrature (Q) components of the amplified inboundwireless signal with in-phase and quadrature components of a localoscillation to produce a mixed I signal and a mixed Q signal. The mixedI and Q signals are combined to produce the inbound symbol stream. Inthis embodiment, the inbound symbol may include phase information (e.g.,+/−Δθ [phase shift] and/or θ(t) [phase modulation]) and/or frequencyinformation (e.g., +/−Δf [frequency shift] and/or f(t) [frequencymodulation]). In another embodiment and/or in furtherance of thepreceding embodiment, the inbound wireless signal includes amplitudeinformation (e.g., +/−ΔA [amplitude shift] and/or A(t) [amplitudemodulation]). To recover the amplitude information, the receiver sectionincludes an amplitude detector such as an envelope detector, a low passfilter, etc.

The processing module 40 converts the inbound symbol stream into aninbound message, which includes the information regarding the object ofinterest. The conversion may be done in accordance with one or morewireless communication standards (e.g., GSM, CDMA, WCDMA, HSUPA, HSDPA,WiMAX, EDGE, GPRS, IEEE 802.11, Bluetooth, ZigBee, universal mobiletelecommunications system (UMTS), long term evolution (LTE), IEEE802.16, evolution data optimized (EV-DO), etc.). Such a conversion mayinclude one or more of: digital intermediate frequency to basebandconversion, time to frequency domain conversion, space-time-blockdecoding, space-frequency-block decoding, demodulation, frequency spreaddecoding, frequency hopping decoding, beamforming decoding,constellation demapping, deinterleaving, decoding, depuncturing, and/ordescrambling.

FIG. 2 is a schematic block diagram of an embodiment of the device 10that includes the processing module 40, the wireless transceiver 44, theprimary cue module 34, and the secondary cue module 36. As shown, theprimary cue module 34 includes one or more of a plurality of primary cuemodules (e.g., an image cue module 62, an audio cue module 64, alocation cue module 66, a text input module 68, and/or a radio receiver70). The secondary cue module 36 includes one or more of a plurality ofsecondary cue modules (e.g., an image cue module 72, an audio cue module74, a location cue module 76, a text input module 78, a weather cuemodule 80, an altitude module 82, a frequency spectrum scanning module86, a compass application 88, and/or a calendar application 90).

In this example, a building is the object of interest 14. The primarycue module 34 obtains a digital image 92 of the object of interest 14and provides it to the processing module 40. For example, the digitalimage cue module 62 may capture the digital image 92 of the building. Inaddition, the secondary cue module 36 provides the secondary data 50(e.g., a text or voice message of “on corner of State and 1^(st)Street”, a text message, a voice message, or a location messageindicating “in My City”, and a text message, a voice message, or aheading message output that indicates “facing northwest”) to theprocessing module 40. Note that the text input module 78 may generatethe text messages; the audio cue module 74 may generate the voicemessages; the location cue module 76, which may be a GPS receiver, maygenerate the location messages; and the compass application may generatethe heading messages.

The processing module 40 processes the primary data 48 (e.g., thedigital image 92) and the secondary data 50 (e.g., the messages), and arequest for further information to produce an outbound message 43. Theprocessing module 40 then converts the outbound message 43 into anoutbound symbol stream 45 as previously described. The wirelesstransceiver 44 converts the outbound symbol stream 45 into the outboundwireless signal 47 as previously described.

With these cues, the other device 12 and/or the server 20 can narrow itssearch to buildings in My City near State and 1^(st) Streets, which arenorthwest from this intersection. This simplifies the search as well asimproves the accuracy of search. For example, many buildings within acity and/or from city to city may look alike, the additional cues enablethe search engine of the device 12 and/or server 20 to correctlyidentify the building and retrieve the corresponding information.

In another example, a bird is the object of interest 14. The primary cuemodule 34 obtains a digital image of the bird and provides it to theprocessing module 40. In addition, the secondary cue module 36 providesthe secondary data 50 (e.g., another digital image of the tree in whichthe bird is sitting; an audio recording of the bird signing; a textmessage, a voice message, or a weather message indicating “in NationalPark”; a text message, a voice message, or a location message indicating“weather conditions”; a text message, a voice message, or an altitudemessage indicating “altitude at 9,000 feet”; and/or a text message, avoice message, or a calendar message indicating “January”) to theprocessing module 40. Note that the image cue module 72 may generate thedigital image of the tree; the audio cue module 74 may generate theaudio recording; the weather cue module 80 may generate the weathercondition message (e.g., temperature, barometric pressure, humidity,etc.); the calendar application may generate the message, etc.

In another example, a recently played song on a radio station is anobject of interest 14. In this example, the primary cue module 34 mayprovide an audio sample of the song and/or provide a message (text orvoice) indicating the radio station. The secondary cue module 36 mayprovide the time the song of interest was played, another known songthat was played prior, or subsequent, to the song of interest, etc.

The processing module 40 may further process the primary data and/orsecondary data to determine which other device 12 and/or server 20 tosend the outbound message. For example, if the processing module 40determines that the primary data is regarding a building, it maydetermine that a particular server primarily supports informationregarding buildings. As another example, the processing module 40 maydetermine that the primary data is concerning a bird and may direct theoutbound message to a server that primarily provides informationregarding birds.

FIG. 3 is a schematic block diagram of another embodiment of a device 10that includes the processing module 40, the wireless transceiver 44, theprimary cue module 34, the secondary cue module 36, and a display 100.The display 100 may be a liquid crystal display, a plasma display, atouch screen display, a capacitive touch screen display, etc.

In this illustration, the other device 12 and/or the server 20 hasresponded to the devices request for information regarding the object ofinterest via an wireless signal 102. The wireless transceiver 44converts the inbound wireless signal 102 into an inbound symbol stream104. The processing module 40 converts the inbound symbol stream 104into an inbound message 106, which contains the information 108regarding the object of interest 14. For example, the information 108may include the name of the building (e.g., The City Building”), theaddress of the building (e.g., 10 1^(st) Street, My City, USA), thenumber of stories (e.g., 75 stories), the year the building was built(e.g., built in 1992), the name of the architect (e.g., Ms. Architect),and notable occupants of the building (e.g., Business #1, etc.).

If the information 108 includes what the user was looking for, then theprocess is complete for this request for the particular object ofinterest. If, however, the user of the device 10 desires furtherinformation, he or she may cause the device 10 to send another requestfor further information. The device 10 would process the subsequentrequest in a similar manner as it did the initial request.

FIG. 4 is a schematic block diagram of another embodiment of a device 10that includes the processing module 40, the wireless transceiver 44, theprimary cue module 34, the secondary cue module 36, and a display 100.In this embodiment, the other device 12 and/or the server 20 has atransmitted a request for additional information from the device 10 viaa wireless signal 102. The wireless transceiver 44 converts the inboundwireless signal 102 into an inbound symbol stream 104. The processingmodule 40 converts the inbound system stream 104 into the request foradditional information 110.

The processing module 40 also interprets the request 110 to determinewhether additional primary data is being request and/or whetheradditional secondary data is being requested. The processing module 40may also determine the type of data to collected (e.g., additionaldigital images, a response to a text message, etc.). In this example,both primary and secondary data are being requested. Accordingly, theprocessing module 40 provides the request to the primary cue module 34and to the secondary cue module 36.

The primary cue module 34, utilizing one or more of its modules 62-70,generates additional primary data 112. In this example, the additionalprimary data 112 includes the building's street address. Similarly, thesecondary cue module 36, using one or more of its modules 72-90,generates additional secondary data 114. In this example, the additionalsecondary data is an image of a neighboring object 116 (e.g., anadjacent building).

The processing module 40 converts the additional primary and secondarydata into an outbound message, which further includes an indication thatthe data is in response to a request for further information. Theprocessing module 40 converts the outbound message into an outboundsymbol stream, which the wireless transceiver 44 converts into anoutbound wireless signal.

FIG. 5 is a logic diagram of an embodiment of a method for obtaininginformation regarding an object of interest (e.g., a person, a building,a landmark, a thing, a mammal, an insect, a reptile, a fish, a song, aplant, and a sound source) that begins at step 100 where the processingmodule 40 receives primary data (e.g., one or more of: a digital image,a digital audio file, a radio broadcast signal, location information, atext message, etc.) from the primary cue module. The method continues atstep 102 where the processing module receives secondary data (e.g., oneor more of: a digital image, a digital audio file, location information,a text message, weather information, altitude, acceleration, frequencyspectrum information, compass heading, date, time, etc.) from thesecondary cue module. Note that steps 100 and 102 may be performedconcurrently or in a reverse order. Further note that step 100 may beskipped such that the processing module receives the secondary data.

The method continues at step 104 where the processing module 40 createsan outbound message based on the primary and/or secondary data. Forexample, the outbound message may include a request for informationregarding the object of interest and the secondary data (e.g., a textand/or voice message “what is the name of the building on the corner ofState and 1^(st) Street in My City”). As another example, the outboundmessage may include the request for information, the primary data (e.g.,a digital image of the building), and the secondary data (e.g., Stateand 1^(st) Street, etc.).

The method continues at step 106 where the processing module convertsthe outbound message into an outbound symbol stream, which may be donein accordance with one or more wireless communication standards. Themethod continues at step 108 where the processing module determineswhether it has received an inbound symbol stream in response to therequest for information. If not, the method continues at step 110 wherethe processing module evokes a retry mechanism.

If, however, the processing module receives the inbound symbol stream,the method continues at step 114 where the processing module convertsthe inbound symbol stream into an inbound message. The method continuesat step 116 where the processing module determines whether the inboundmessage includes the information or a request for additionalinformation. If the message includes the information, the methodcontinues at step 118 where the processing module provides theinformation for display.

If, however, the message is a request for additional information, themethod continues at step 118 where the processing module provides therequest to the primary and/or secondary cue modules. The methodcontinues at step 120 where the processing module receives theadditional primary and/or secondary data. The method continues at step122 where the processing module creates another outbound message thatcontains the additional primary and/or secondary data and an indicationthat the message is in response to a request for additional information.The method then repeats at step 106.

In this method, the collection of primary data, secondary data,additional primary data, and/or additional secondary data may be fromone or more of the primary cue modules and/or from one or more of thesecondary cue modules (examples of each are shown in FIG. 2). Theselection of which primary cue module(s) and/or secondary cue module(s)to use may be user driven or automated. For example, when a particularprimary cue module is used, the device 10 determines that one or morespecific secondary cue modules are to be used. For example, the primarycue module may be a digital image sensor and the secondary cue modulemay be a GPS receiver and a text message.

FIG. 6 is a schematic block diagram of an embodiment of a system inwhich a device 10 may obtain information regarding an object of interest14 from another device 12 and/or from a server 20. The device 10 maycommunicate with the other device 12 and/or the server 20 via a directwireless connection, via a wireless router 24, via a cellular telephonebase station 22, via a general cellular network 26, and/or via theinternet 28 as previously discussed with reference to FIG. 1. The device10 includes the processing module 40, the wireless transceiver 44, theprimary cue module 34, the secondary cue module 36, and memory 130(e.g., RAM, ROM, flash, hard disk, etc.).

In an example of operation, the user of device 10 would like to obtaininformation regarding the object of interest 14 (e.g., a person, abuilding, a landmark, a thing, a mammal, an insect, a reptile, a fish, asong, a plant, a sound source (e.g., a radio broadcast signal, humanvocal cords, a speaker, etc.), etc.). In this example, the user causesthe primary cue module 34 to obtain primary data 48 (e.g., a digitalimage, an audio sample, geographic information, a text message, etc.)regarding the object of interest 14 and/or the secondary cue module 36(e.g., a digital image of the surrounding area, an audio sample, weatherinformation, further location information, a text message, altitudeinformation, frequency spectrum information, acceleration information,compass heading information, date, time of day, etc.) to obtainsecondary data 50 regarding the object of interest 14.

The processing module 40 determines whether the memory 130 stores thedesired information regarding the object of interest 14 based on theprimary data and/or the secondary data. In an embodiment, the processingmodule 40 interprets the primary and/or secondary data to determinedatabase search information (e.g., building information regarding abuilding in a particular city, etc). The processing module 40 searchesone or more databases stored in memory 130 to determine whether thememory 130 stores the desired information. If so, the processing module40 retrieves the information and provides it to the display forpresentation to the user.

If, however, the memory 130 stores only a portion of the desiredinformation, the processing module 40 generates an outbound messagerequesting the additional information based on the information it hasretrieved, the primary data, and/or the secondary data. The processingmodule and the wireless transceiver 44 generate an outbound wirelesssignal from the outbound message as previously discussed. When theprocessing module receives a response to its request, it interprets themessage to determine whether it includes the requested information or arequest for additional data.

If the response includes the requested information, the processingmodule augments the information from memory 130 with the requestedinformation and provides the aggregated information to the display forpresentation to the user. If the response includes a request foradditional information, the processing module processes the request aspreviously discussed.

If the memory 130 does not store the desired information or a portionthereof, the processing module generates the outbound message to includethe primary data and/or the secondary data and a request for the desiredinformation into an outbound message. The remaining processing to obtainthe desired information is as previously discussed.

FIG. 7 is a logic diagram of another embodiment of a method forobtaining information regarding an object of interest (e.g., a person, abuilding, a landmark, a thing, a mammal, an insect, a reptile, a fish, asong, a plant, and a sound source) that begins at steps 100 and/or 103where the processing module 40 receives primary data (e.g., one or moreof: a digital image, a digital audio file, a radio broadcast signal,location information, a text message, etc.) from the primary cue moduleand/or receives secondary data (e.g., one or more of: a digital image, adigital audio file, location information, a text message, weatherinformation, altitude, acceleration, frequency spectrum information,compass heading, date, time, etc.) from the secondary cue module. Notethat step 100 may be skipped such that the processing module receivesthe secondary data.

The method continues at step 132 where the processing module determineswhether the memory stores the desired information. If yes, the methodcontinues at step 118 where the processing provides the information fordisplay. If, however, the processing determines that the memory does notstore the desired information or stores only a portion thereof, themethod continues at step 104 where the processing module 40 creates anoutbound message based on the primary data, the secondary data, and/or arequest for additional information to augment the information stored inthe memory.

The method continues at step 106 where the processing module convertsthe outbound message into an outbound symbol stream, which may be donein accordance with one or more wireless communication standards. Themethod continues at step 108 where the processing module determineswhether it has received an inbound symbol stream in response to therequest for information. If not, the method continues at step 110 wherethe processing module evokes a retry mechanism.

If, however, the processing module receives the inbound symbol stream,the method continues at step 114 where the processing module convertsthe inbound symbol stream into an inbound message. The method continuesat step 116 where the processing module determines whether the inboundmessage includes the information or a request for additionalinformation. If the message includes the information, the methodcontinues at step 118 where the processing module provides theinformation for display.

If, however, the message is a request for additional information, themethod continues at step 118 where the processing module provides therequest to the primary and/or secondary cue modules. The methodcontinues at step 120 where the processing module receives theadditional primary and/or secondary data. The method continues at step122 where the processing module creates another outbound message thatcontains the additional primary and/or secondary data and an indicationthat the message is in response to a request for additional information.The method then repeats at step 106.

FIG. 8 is a logic diagram of an embodiment of a method for providinginformation regarding an object of interest that begins at step 140where the processing module 52 and/or 56 converts an inbound symbolstream into at least one of primary data, secondary data, and a requestfor desired information regarding an object of interest in accordancewith one or more wireless communication protocols and/or internetprotocols.

The method continues at step 142 where the processing module 52 and/or56 determines whether its memory 54 and/or 58 stores the desiredinformation regarding the object of interest based on the at least oneof the request for the desired information, the primary data, and thesecondary data. If yes, the method continues at step 144 where theprocessing module 54 and/or 58 retrieves the desired information fromthe memory. In an embodiment, the processing module accesses the memorybased on the request for the desired information, the primary data,and/or the secondary data to retrieve a plurality of probableinformation records. The processing module then ranks the plurality ofprobable information records based on the primary data and/or thesecondary data to produce a plurality of ranked probable informationrecords. The processing module then converts the plurality of rankedprobable information records into the outbound symbol stream, which issubsequently converted into an outbound wireless signal that istransmitted to the device 10.

If, however, the memory does not store the desired information, themethod continues at step 148 where the processing module 54 and/or 58determines whether the memory stores at least some of the desiredinformation. If yes, the method continues at step 154 where theprocessing module 54 and/or 58 generates a message requesting additionalprimary data and/or additional secondary data. The method continues atstep 156 where the processing module 54 and/or 58 converts the messageinto a second outbound symbol stream and then waits for a response atstep 140.

If, at step 148, the memory does not store any of the desiredinformation, the method continues at step 150 where the processingmodule 54 and/or 58 generates a forward message that includes at leastone of the primary data, the secondary data, the request for the desiredinformation, an identity of a requestor, and an indication of thedesired information. The method continues at step 152 where theprocessing module 54 and/or 58 converts the forward message into asecond outbound symbol stream.

As may be used herein, the terms “substantially” and “approximately”provides an industry-accepted tolerance for its corresponding termand/or relativity between items. Such an industry-accepted toleranceranges from less than one percent to fifty percent and corresponds to,but is not limited to, component values, integrated circuit processvariations, temperature variations, rise and fall times, and/or thermalnoise. Such relativity between items ranges from a difference of a fewpercent to magnitude differences. As may also be used herein, theterm(s) “operably coupled to”, “coupled to”, and/or “coupling” includesdirect coupling between items and/or indirect coupling between items viaan intervening item (e.g., an item includes, but is not limited to, acomponent, an element, a circuit, and/or a module) where, for indirectcoupling, the intervening item does not modify the information of asignal but may adjust its current level, voltage level, and/or powerlevel. As may further be used herein, inferred coupling (i.e., where oneelement is coupled to another element by inference) includes direct andindirect coupling between two items in the same manner as “coupled to”.As may even further be used herein, the term “operable to” or “operablycoupled to” indicates that an item includes one or more of powerconnections, input(s), output(s), etc., to perform, when activated, oneor more its corresponding functions and may further include inferredcoupling to one or more other items. As may still further be usedherein, the term “associated with”, includes direct and/or indirectcoupling of separate items and/or one item being embedded within anotheritem. As may be used herein, the term “compares favorably”, indicatesthat a comparison between two or more items, signals, etc., provides adesired relationship. For example, when the desired relationship is thatsignal 1 has a greater magnitude than signal 2, a favorable comparisonmay be achieved when the magnitude of signal 1 is greater than that ofsignal 2 or when the magnitude of signal 2 is less than that of signal1.

The present invention has also been described above with the aid ofmethod steps illustrating the performance of specified functions andrelationships thereof. The boundaries and sequence of these functionalbuilding blocks and method steps have been arbitrarily defined hereinfor convenience of description. Alternate boundaries and sequences canbe defined so long as the specified functions and relationships areappropriately performed. Any such alternate boundaries or sequences arethus within the scope and spirit of the claimed invention.

The present invention has been described above with the aid offunctional building blocks illustrating the performance of certainsignificant functions. The boundaries of these functional buildingblocks have been arbitrarily defined for convenience of description.Alternate boundaries could be defined as long as the certain significantfunctions are appropriately performed. Similarly, flow diagram blocksmay also have been arbitrarily defined herein to illustrate certainsignificant functionality. To the extent used, the flow diagram blockboundaries and sequence could have been defined otherwise and stillperform the certain significant functionality. Such alternatedefinitions of both functional building blocks and flow diagram blocksand sequences are thus within the scope and spirit of the claimedinvention. One of average skill in the art will also recognize that thefunctional building blocks, and other illustrative blocks, modules andcomponents herein, can be implemented as illustrated or by discretecomponents, application specific integrated circuits, processorsexecuting appropriate software and the like or any combination thereof.

1. A device comprises: a primary cue module to obtain primary dataregarding an object of interest; a secondary cue module to obtainsecondary data regarding the object of interest; a processing moduleoperably coupled to: receive at least one of the primary data and thesecondary data; convert the at least one of the primary data and thesecondary data into an outbound message; convert the outbound messageinto an outbound symbol stream; and convert an inbound symbol streaminto an inbound message, wherein the inbound message includesinformation regarding the object of interest; and a wireless transceiveroperably coupled to: convert the outbound symbol stream into an outboundwireless signal; and convert an inbound wireless signal into the inboundsymbol stream.
 2. The device of claim 1 further comprises: the primarycue module including at least one of: one or more digital image cuemodules; one or more sound cue modules; a radio receiver; one or morelocation cue modules; and a text input module; and the secondary cuemodule including at least one of: one or more digital image cue modules;one or more sound cue modules; one or more location cue modules; a textinput module; one or more weather cue modules: one or more altitude cuemodules; one or more accelerometers; one or more frequency spectrumscanning modules; a compass application; and a calendar application. 3.The device of claim 1 further comprises: the inbound message including arequest for at least one of additional primary data and additionalsecondary data; the primary cue module obtains the additional primarydata when the request is for the additional primary data; the secondarycue module obtains the additional secondary data when the request is forthe additional secondary data; the processing module converts at leastone of the additional primary data and the additional secondary datainto a second outbound message and converts the second outbound messageinto a second outbound symbol stream.
 4. The device of claim 1 furthercomprises: a display for displaying the information regarding the objectof interest.
 5. The device of claim 1, wherein the object of interestcomprises at least one of: a person, a building, a landmark, a thing, amammal, an insect, a reptile, a fish, a song, a plant, and a soundsource.
 6. The device of claim 1 further comprises: a plurality ofprimary cue modules, wherein at least the primary cue module of theplurality of cue modules is activated to obtain the primary data; and aplurality of secondary cue modules, wherein at least the secondary cuemodule of the plurality of secondary cue modules is activated to obtainthe secondary data, wherein activation of the at least the secondary cuemodule is based on the at least the primary cue module being activated.7. The device of claim 1 further comprises: a plurality of primary cuemodules operably coupled to obtain a plurality of primary data, whichincludes the primary data; a plurality of secondary cue modules operablycoupled to obtain a plurality of secondary data, which includes thesecondary data; and the processing module operably coupled to convertthe plurality of primary data and the plurality of secondary data intothe outbound message.
 8. A device comprises: a primary cue module toobtain primary data regarding an object of interest; a secondary cuemodule to obtain secondary data regarding the object of interest;memory; a processing module operably coupled to: determine whether thememory stores desired information regarding the object of interest basedon at least one of the primary data and the secondary data; when thememory does not store the desired information regarding the object ofinterest: convert the at least one of primary data and the secondarydata and a request for the desired information into an outbound message;convert the outbound message into an outbound symbol stream; and convertan inbound symbol stream into an inbound message, wherein the inboundmessage includes at least some of the desired information regarding theobject of interest; and a wireless transceiver operably coupled to:convert the outbound symbol stream into an outbound wireless signal; andconvert an inbound wireless signal into the inbound symbol stream. 9.The device of claim 8, wherein the processing module further functionsto: receive information from the memory regarding the object ofinterest; determine that the information is incomplete with respect tothe desired information; and generate the outbound message to furtherinclude a request for supplemental information regarding the object ofinterest, wherein the supplemental information and the informationsubstantially equates to the desired information.
 10. The device ofclaim 8 further comprises: a display; and the processing module furtherfunctioning to, when the memory stores the desired information regardingthe object of interest: obtain the desired information from the memory;convert the desired information into display data; and provide thedisplay data to the display.
 11. The device of claim 8 furthercomprises: the primary cue module including at least one of: one or moredigital image cue modules; one or more sound cue modules; a radioreceiver; one or more location cue modules; and a text input module; andthe secondary cue module including at least one of: one or more digitalimage cue modules; one or more sound cue modules; one or more locationcue modules; a text input module; one or more weather cue modules: oneor more altitude cue modules; one or more accelerometers; one or morefrequency spectrum scanning modules; a compass application; and acalendar application.
 12. The device of claim 8 further comprises: theinbound message including a request for at least one of additionalprimary data and additional secondary data; the primary cue moduleobtains the additional primary data when the request is for theadditional primary data; the secondary cue module obtains the additionalsecondary data when the request is for the additional secondary data;the processing module converts at least one of the additional primarydata and the additional secondary data into a second outbound messageand converts the second outbound message into a second outbound symbolstream.
 13. The device of claim 8 further comprises: a plurality ofprimary cue modules, wherein at least the primary cue module of theplurality of cue modules is activated to obtain the primary data; and aplurality of secondary cue modules, wherein at least the secondary cuemodule of the plurality of secondary cue modules is activated to obtainthe secondary data, wherein activation of the at least the secondary cuemodule is based on the at least the primary cue module being activated.14. The device of claim 8 further comprises: a plurality of primary cuemodules operably coupled to obtain a plurality of primary data, whichincludes the primary data; a plurality of secondary cue modules operablycoupled to obtain a plurality of secondary data, which includes thesecondary data; and the processing module operably coupled to convertthe plurality of primary data and the plurality of secondary data intothe outbound message.
 15. A device comprises: memory; an interfaceoperably coupled to: convert an inbound signal into an inbound symbolstream; and convert an outbound symbol stream into an outbound signal;and a processing module operably coupled to: convert the inbound symbolstream into at least one of primary data, secondary data, and a requestfor desired information regarding an object of interest; determinewhether the memory stores the desired information regarding the objectof interest based on the at least one of the request for the desiredinformation, the primary data, and the secondary data; and when thememory does store the desired information regarding the object ofinterest, convert the desired information regarding the object ofinterest into the outbound symbol stream.
 16. The device of claim 15,wherein the processing module further functions to, when the memorystores at least some of the desired information: generate a messagerequesting at least one of additional primary data and additionalsecondary data; and convert the message into a second outbound symbolstream.
 17. The device of claim 15, wherein the processing modulefurther functions to, when the memory does not store at least part ofthe desired information: generate a forward message that includes atleast one of the primary data, the secondary data, the request for thedesired information, an identity of a requestor, and an indication ofthe at least part of the desired information; and convert the forwardmessage into a second outbound symbol stream.
 18. The device of claim15, wherein the processing module further functions to: access thememory based on at least one of the request for the desired information,the primary data, and the secondary data to retrieve a plurality ofprobable information records, wherein the plurality of probableinformation records includes the desired information; rank the pluralityof probable information records based on at least one of the primarydata and the secondary data to produce a plurality of ranked probableinformation records; and convert the plurality of ranked probableinformation records into the outbound symbol stream.
 19. A method forexecution by a processing module, the method comprises: converting aninbound symbol stream into at least one of primary data, secondary data,and a request for desired information regarding an object of interest;determining whether a local memory stores the desired informationregarding the object of interest based on the at least one of therequest for the desired information, the primary data, and the secondarydata; and when the local memory does store the desired informationregarding the object of interest, converting the desired informationregarding the object of interest into an outbound symbol stream.
 20. Themethod of claim 19 further comprises, when the memory does not store atleast part of the desired information: generating a message requestingat least one of additional primary data and additional secondary data;and converting the message into a second outbound symbol stream.
 21. Themethod of claim 19 further comprises, when the memory does not store atleast part of the desired information: generating a forward message thatincludes at least one of the primary data, the secondary data, therequest for the desired information, an identity of a requestor, and anindication of the at least part of the desired information; andconverting the forward message into a second outbound symbol stream. 22.The method of claim 19 further comprises: accessing the local memorybased on at least one of the request for the desired information, theprimary data, and the secondary data to retrieve a plurality of probableinformation records, wherein the plurality of probable informationrecords includes the desired information; ranking the plurality ofprobable information records based on at least one of the primary dataand the secondary data to produce a plurality of ranked probableinformation records; and converting the plurality of ranked probableinformation records into the outbound symbol stream.